This comic features the villain Exodus battling the Avengers. Exodus has a history with the characters that makes him a valuable character to focus on. The comic depicts the Avengers confronting Exodus in Genosha after people have been dying. It ends with Scarlet Witch preparing to battle Exodus in a cliffhanger. Analysis of panels from the comic shows they effectively employ various visual storytelling techniques discussed by Scott McCloud, such as establishing shots, facial expressions, panel layout, and emotion.

1. Avengers West Coast
JENNIFER WISE

2. The theme/focus of this presentation is on the character Exodus.
Exodus is the main villain within this comic book and has history
with the characters which makes him a valuable character.
Theme and Focus

3. The name of the comic is Avengers West Coast.
Exodus, formally known as Bennet du Paris, was born in the 12th century (Exodus (comics), Wikipedia). When introduced to
villain, Apocalypse, du Paris’ powers became recognized, he became Exodus. He is known as one of the most powerful mutants
on Earth and he held his own against the Avengers even though, he is said to be mentally unstable (Exodus, comicvine). Exodus’s
powers include telekinesis, force field, healing, and more. These powers are said to be caused by the tampering done by
Apocalypse (Bennet du Paris (Earth-616), marvel.wika).
This comic deals with the Avengers who are angry about the fact that there have been people dying in the city known as
Genosha and are fighting to try and get the board to allow them to go there and help them. They finally get the okay to go to
Genosha and they come face to face with Exodus who has been killing people instead of just making them helpless which is a
big problem with the Avengers. During their battle with Exodus, a mob of mutant people begin to attack the Avengers and their
focus is away from Exodus while he has his own battle going on. Captain America and Beast go to save the people from being
mutants whereas the Scarlet Witch goes to try and find Exodus. It ends on a cliff hanger where Scarlet Witch is about to battle
Exodus.
The beginning of the comic felt as though it was rushed. There was too much going on that the reader would most likely not be
able to catch up on. When Exodus came in, it was unexpected. Due to the fact that he mainly deals with the X-Men, it was a
smart idea to include him and throw in a surprise close to the beginning. However, the storyline between Scarlet Witch and
Exodus should have been explained more due to the fact that this comic is not the first one Exodus and Scarlet With was in.
​When the Avengers split up, it made the comic move forward more and opened up a lot more of the plot. The mutant group
that took the Avengers focus off of Exodus allowed Exodus to have more of a backstory within this comic and allowed the
readers who did not know of him to get acquainted with Exodus. The ending was a smart move as it left everything open to
interpretation as to what was going to happen between Scarlet Witch and Exodus.
Abstract

4. This scene works perfectly with McClouds
establishing shot due to the fact it is a
wide shot at the beginning of a scene. It
supports the them as this is when Exodus
first appears in this issue.
This McCloud principle
works as well as the
shot from the comic is
from a sort of eagle
eye perspective as the
right panel shows.
The McCloud
principle is that at the
beginning scene of
some comics, the
artists create a long
shot panel sometimes
covering two pages to
set the scene.

5. The McCloud concept used works with
this panel because, the way Exodus is
drawn with his frown lines and clenched
jaw shows the exaggeration of emotion.
This fits with the theme as it shows he
thinks of himself as the good mutant.
This McCloud theory is
about the way expressions
are shown in characters.
This particular one is
about how artists amplify
key facial features to make
the emotion stronger.

6. This is an example of the McCloud method called,
choice of flow. It works as you can see the artist
decided to overlap panels and go against original
flow. This scene fits the theme as it shows Exodus
leaving and Scarlet Witch telling him no which
could show their relationship.
This McCloud theory talks
about how comic book artists
choose to frame their
material and how they want
their comic to flow.

7. This goes with McCloud as it shows the
mixture of indignation and anger that
McCloud touches on. This goes with the
theme as it goes back to the relationship
between him and Scarlet Witch.
McCloud is showing how you can use
indignation to further show an
emotion such as anger.

8. These two work as he is showing rage which is an
example of how when you mix three emotions you
come up with a new one. It is also choice of frame
due to the fact the artist chose to move closely into
his face. This goes along with the theme as he
explains his views on certain subjects that humans do
not understand.
McCloud is showing how if
these emotions are combined,
the feeling of rage is the
outcome.
McCloud in this panel is
talking about how some
artists use close ups to
frame their panels.

9. This McCloud theory is shown through
the “AARR” this is at the top of the
panel. This supports my theme as it
shows how powerful Exodus is.

10. This scene in the comic is an example of
breaking the fourth wall. The fight
between the two characters is not within
the border. This supports my theme as it
shows a fight between a human and
Exodus.
McCloud is explaining how some
artist put parts of their characters
outside of the frame or do not include
a frame at all which results in
breaking the fourth wall.

11. This scene is an example of interdependent due
to the fact that if the words were taken away,
the reader wouldn’t know how Exodus felt. This
supports my theme as Exodus is talking about
the parallels of humans and mutants.
McCloud is explaining a concept known
as interdependent which means that
without the words or without the
picture, the panel would have a
completely different meaning.

12. This picture shows what is going ot
happen next and the words just help
to move it along. This fits with the
theme as it is Exodus with another
enemy.
McCloud is talking about how sometimes the
pictures in the panel is all that is needed but,
the words help accentuate the meaning of
the picture.

13. Using both the top and bottom frames,
this is an example of scene to scene. The
two panels switch from Exodus’s fight to
the Avengers. This fits with the theme as
it is showing once again how strong
Exodus is.
Scene to scene describes how
there can be one part of the
story happening in a panel and
then in the next panel a separate
part of the story is happening
that is not necessarily connected.

14. This McCloud theory works here because the words
tell a story that the picture alone cannot convey.
This fits with the theme as he explains that he is a
mutant and will always be stronger than a typical
human. Word specific talks about how the words
are the most important part of the panel
and the picture goes along with the
words.

15. The words “rather redly” go along with
the fight as it is heating up. Therefore, the
words and picture work together. This
goes with the theme as Exodus is
declaring victory as he is stronger.
Duo-Specific means that both the words
and the picture mean the same thing and
they both need to be there.

16. The action to action concept works
here because it is a three panel fight
scene. This fits with the theme as it
shows his confidence in himself as a
fighter.
Action to action is when there
are multiple panels that show a
type of action continuing.

17. This is an example of the surprised emotion which
is part of the 6 major emotions McCloud talks
about. This fits with the theme as it shows that
although he is strong against humans, can Exodus
win a fight against another mutant? These are examples of the
most common 6 features for
comic book characters.

18. The McCloud theory works as you can
tell she is more dominant due to the
way Exodus is shrinking back from her.
This fits the theme as it is about to
reveal another part of his past.
Elevation and status means the
person who is higher up is shown as
more powerful than the one that is
below them.

19. In conclusion, this comic includes many examples within the McCloud book that features Exodus. In
addition, Exodus is a great character to have as the main abstract due to being the main villain as well as
having a background with the heroes that this comic surrounds.
Conclusion